A Bustle in the Hedgerow

Marc Notes: ; The strangled body of a 9-year-old girl is discovered behind a hedgerow bordering her school playground in York, Pennsylvania. The local authorities' only clue lies in a scrap of paper left in her front pocket, with a short phrase printed on it in an unfamiliar language. Jackson Byrne, an FBI agent who specializes in investigating crimes against children, has just completed a book tour promoting his best-seller about solving his most recent high-profile case-the abduction and murder of a celebrity's young daughter. Unexpectedly, Jack receives an invitation from an old family friend and powerful political insider urging him to run for the U. S. Senate. At the same time, his FBI division learns of the murder of another child with a similar mysterious message, launching them into a search for a serial killer given the moniker The Playground Predator. As Jack becomes torn between his excitement about a new career and others' expectations of a celebrated investigator, he must also continue to deal with demons from his past. While Jack's devoted wife, a sycophantic young FBI colleague, and an ambitious and attractive female reporter all try to influence his path, none of them pulls the strings as effectively as the enigmatic Randall, the psychologically disturbed but brilliant Playground Predator himself, who orchestrates his own master plan, eventually dragging Jack into an inevitable showdown.. Biographical Note: Ben Miller was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Yale University and his Medical Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. Since completing residency training in Pediatrics, he has worked as a Pediatric Hospitalist and Diagnostic Specialist at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Ben currently resides with his wife and two daughters in a suburb of Pittsburgh. He continues to work on his next novel while practicing and teaching pediatrics. Visit www.benmillerbooks.comPublisher Marketing: "This nail-biter teems with suspense... An unrelenting debut thriller." --Kirkus Reviews The strangled body of a 9-year-old girl is discovered behind a hedgerow bordering her school playground in York, Pennsylvania. The local authorities' only clue lies in a scrap of paper left in her front pocket, with a short phrase printed on it in an unfamiliar language. Jackson Byrne, an FBI agent who specializes in investigating crimes against children, has just completed a book tour promoting his best-seller about solving his most recent high-profile case-the abduction and murder of a celebrity's young daughter. Unexpectedly, Jack receives an invitation from an old family friend and powerful political insider urging him to run for the U. S. Senate. At the same time, his FBI division learns of the murder of another child with a similar mysterious message, launching them into a search for a serial killer given the moniker The Playground Predator. As Jack becomes torn between his excitement about a new career and others' expectations of a celebrated investigator, he must also continue to deal with demons from his past. While Jack's devoted wife, a sycophantic young FBI colleague, and an ambitious and attractive female reporter all try to influence his path, none of them pulls the strings as effectively as the enigmatic Randall, the psychologically disturbed but brilliant Playground Predator himself, who orchestrates his own master plan, eventually dragging Jack into an inevitable showdown. "A BUSTLE IN THE HEDGEROW starts out deceptively simple, but gets more complex and interesting as the mystery deepens. Characters are three-dimensional and multifaceted... a good psychological thriller that allows the reader to piece together the clues to a mystery." --Catherine Langrehr, IndieReader Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2014 (EAN 9781494403720, Paperback) Contributor Bio:  Miller, Ben Ben Miller was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Yale University and his Medical Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. Since completing residency training in Pediatrics, he has worked as a Pediatric Hospitalist and Diagnostic Specialist at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Ben currently resides with his wife and two daughters in a suburb of Pittsburgh. He continues to work on his next novel while practicing and teaching pediatrics. Visit www.benmillerbooks.com